Making It Work
by Mrs.MattSmith1019
Summary: Post-Hogwarts. After Voldemort died, someone is creating a new army of Death Eaters and the number of Aurors is declining after all the attacks. Healer Granger and Auror Malfoy are thrown into a loop as the ministry tries to start a new program of healers: Battle Healers. Let's see how these two former enemies can make it work. (Okay, yeah, I really suck at writing summaries).


Hello! So this is my first Harry Potter fic and I'm really nervous about it. I had an idea pop into my head and was thinking about using another fic for it but soon came to the conclusion that it would only work with Dramione. It's not that I don't love Dramione, heck no, I am just nervous about my writing because they are my favorite pair and I don't want to mess up. Anyway, I hope you like the story! Also, if anyone's willing to Beta this story, please PM me! On with the show!

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><p>St. Mungos<p>

It was a crisp and windy Monday morning in the middle of October. The leaves on the trees were all different shades of oranges, reds, and yellows, and many of them littered the streets of London. A figure bundled up to her ears walked towards the brick building that loomed ahead. She wore ear-muffs to keep her ears toasty, a scarf around her neck, and a long maroon cloak to shield her from the elements. Hastily, she made her way to the building and took a scan around to make sure that no one was watching. She then stepped into the brick wall on the side of the building, in a fashion not dissimilar to the entrance of platform 9 ¾ at King Cross Station. As she stepped into the building, she watched the brick wall give way to a hallway of pristine white.

Quietly, she walked down the halls of St. Mungos Hospital as to not disturb the inhabitants of the rooms she passed. She gave a small smile to the nurses who flittered in and out of the patient wards. She got onto the elevators and greeted a few of her colleagues. Upon reaching the 4th floor for Spell Damage, she slipped out of the elevator and again made her way through patients, visitors, and staff, giving each and every one a smile. Finally, she came upon her office door that read "Healer Hermione Granger" and let herself in.

She immediately smiled as the warmth of the room hit her face. She always kept her office a few degrees warmer once the summer had ended since the corridors of St. Mungos were usually cold, which was nice in the humid summers but not so much in the bitter falls and harsh winters. Hermione walked to her desk and took off her coat to reveal her grey slacks and red blouse. She hung her coat on the rack and picked up healer robes that were hanging on another hanger, and put them on. Her hair, less bushy than it had been in her childhood days, was neatly kept in a ponytail. She had just sat down at her desk when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said, already knowing who was on the other side of the door.

The door opened to reveal Blaise Zabini, holding two cups of coffee. During the war, the Zabini's had not stood with Voldemort and were not scrutinized much upon their return after the Dark Lord's demise. They were the only other purebloods, apart from the Weasleys, who had not hurt the Order and other members of society who did not support the Death Eaters in their takeover of the Ministry. After the war, Blaise, like Hermione and many other students, had gone back to Hogwarts to complete their schooling. He then joined Hermione in healer training for three years in order to rebuild their broken society and tend to those who had suffered from long term effects of the war and those who came in with fresh ones from rogue Death Eater attacks.

"Good morning, Granger," he said with a grin. He stepped into her office and placed one of the steaming cups of coffee in front of her, for which she was most grateful. "On time, as usual. Thought you'd need that with the weather we're having".

Hermione clutched the cup within her hands, letting the heat radiate from the cup and warm her cold fingers. She nodded her head towards him in thanks and took a sip of the liquid, savoring the warmth as it cascaded down her throat and into her stomach. "Thank you so much, Blaise. You're a god send".

At some point during healer training, the former Gryffindor and Slytherin had called a truce, seeing as they would have to work together in the future and they both could benefit from studying together. This ended up being a wonderful solution as they both graduated top of their class, of course with Hermione a few points ahead of Blaise, not that he minded.

"I'll agree to that, Granger. Would you like to see what Heaven looks like?" he said, wiggling him eyebrows up and down and then smirked at her. Even though they had called a truce, Blaise never passed up an opportunity to flirt with her and make her blush. It was hard to resist, she was a beautiful witch.

Not one to be disappointed, he saw Hermione lightly blush and roll her eyes. "Oh, get over yourself, you git," she chuckled and took another sip of her coffee, moaning as the delicious beverage continued to elevate her temperature. The sound of her moan made him slightly uncomfortable in his trousers. Thank Merlin he was wearing his Healer robes. Though he and Granger were friends, he'd be a fool not to be attracted to the woman, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

"How was your weekend, Blaise?"

"Well enough, thank you for asking. Got smashed with the guys on Friday though, the hangover the following morning was excruciating. Draco dared me not to take a hangover potion. How was your weekend, Granger?"

"That's what you get for taking an idiotic dare from Malfoy. My weekend was splendid. The new books that I ordered from Flourish and Blotts arrived and I couldn't put them down. There is no better feeling that curling up in a blanket on a cold autumn day and reading a book," she replied, smiling at the memory.

"No better feeling than….? You really need to get out Granger. You're going to become an old crone just reading your books as life passes you by" Blaise said, disbelievingly. He really needed to get her out there. He would have to take to Potter and Weasley, he knew she would listen to them.

Hermione scoffed and got up from her seat, making her way to the door, ready to begin her rounds. "I enjoy my life, Blaise. I know you see it as bleak and mundane, but we're different people with different likes and dislikes. Now, get out of here so I can check on my patients," she said with a sad smile and shake of her head.

Blaise rose from his seat and stepped outside of her door. "Whatever you say, Granger, but I know there's a side of you that's bursting to get out and have a bit of fun". And with that, he left her to her thoughts.

Hermione shook her head at her friend's words and started making her way towards her patients. As she walked the white halls of St. Mungos, she couldn't help but look back at all that had happened since Harry had defeated Voldemort.

Everyone had erupted into cheers when Voldemort fell back, his eyes forever losing their light, never to torment the Wizarding World again.

While the War had been won, their world was in a state of disaster. They had lost so many of their own. There was no ministry, no school, and no idea of how to repair the damage of Voldemort's rule.

First, Kingsley had been elected as the new Minister of Magic. With his history as an Auror and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he was an excellent candidate. The Ministry and Wizarding World finally started to heal. Many of the Death Eaters who had gotten away moments before Voldemort's demise were rounded up, although a fair few were still unaccounted for. They were all tried in front of the Wizengamot and most were put into Azkaban, which was now patrolled by Aurors instead of Dementors.

However, the Malfoys had avoided that fate. Well, at least Mrs. Malfoy and her son, Draco. While Lucius Malfoy had been imprisoned in Azkaban, his wife and son walked free due to Harry's testimony as well as Hermione and Ron's. During the trial, Harry recounted the lie that Narcissa Malfoy had told Voldemort. Without her, he would be dead and the Wizarding World would have forever been in darkness. He also recounted how Draco had defected from the Death Eaters at the last minute. It was the combined testimony of all three that had saved Draco. They explained how he had purposefully not identified them to his Aunt in Malfoy Manor, again, saving their lives.

Knowing that imprisonment of the other Malfoys would displease their savior, they had released Mrs. Malfoy and Draco with nothing but a warning to not turn to the Dark Arts again.

Come September, Hogwarts had reopened after reconstruction. Hermione had been eager to return to her former haven. She was keen on learning again and studying for the N.E.W.T.s. Ron and Harry had been less enthusiastic about going back to school after saving the world, but realized it was necessary in order to enroll in the Ministry's Auror training program. So she, Ron, Harry went back to Hogwarts for their 8th year and Ginny returned for her 7th.

What surprised most was to see that many of the Slytherin house had also returned to complete their education, most unexpectedly Malfoy. She had assumed he would take over the family business, whatever that was. The Malfoys were very rich; that kind of money had to come from somewhere. But no, he too had returned to Hogwarts to finish his school in order, as she would later learn, to become an Auror as well.

While their arrival back to school had been with warm welcome from their schoolmates and friends, the Slytherins did not receive as special of a treatment. They downright were isolated and sneered at by the other houses. Malfoy more than most due to his status as a former Death Eater. It surprised her that he had not really fought back or reacted to the jabs and vile things being said about him. However, Slytherins, surprisingly, were very loyal to themselves. They were also there to defend each other, regardless of what anyone else thought. As a Gryffindor, Hermione admired that about them, even if their personalities were less than agreeable.

After a few months of listening to the rumors and curses about the Slytherins, Harry had had enough and told everyone to leave them alone. He did not explain to them what had transpired between himself and Malfoy like he had during the trials, but he made it clear that if not for the Malfoys, we would not be here. Boy did that shut everyone up. Malfoy and Harry had exchanged a look, and both nodded their heads towards the other. A truce.

While they were not swayed on their beliefs of Malfoy, no one dared mention anything negative about him in the presence of the three Gryffindors and the teachers. And life went on.

With the war over, Harry and Ginny were together again. They could not bear to be parted as they had been the previous year. Besides classes, they spent almost all their remaining time in each other's presence. It was a bit much, even for Hermione.

She and Ron… that was another story. After the War, Hermione and Ron had been so excited to give into their feelings and had started up a relationship. However, it became increasingly clear after a few months that they were not meant to be as they and everyone else thought. Hermione realized that their feelings for each other were probably correlated with the adrenaline rush they had experienced during their younger years at Hogwarts. Not one year had been peaceful, for Voldemort had plagued their youth from the beginning. Every year had been about a new danger, a great rush of anxiety, adrenaline, and emotions. Now, with the war over, they found it hard to connect and experience those euphoric feelings.

They realized that they wanted different things out of their lives and out of their partners. While Hermione had been very accepting of Ron's career choice as an Auror, Ron had been reluctant on accepting her choice to be a Healer. His ideal wife would stay at home, look after her kids, like his mother had. But Hermione was much different than Molly Weasley. She was independent, career-oriented, the Brightest Witch of Her Age, and a war heroine, all before the age of 19. Now that the war was over, she wanted to make a difference again.

****Flashback****

"_But Hermione, we just saved the world from Voldemort! How much more of a difference can you make? Now it's the time for peace and you can relax and settled down," Ron said._

"_I know that defeating Voldemort was a big deal Ron but there is still so much to be done. Our world is in shambles and you want me to settle down? There are so many who were hurting, Ron, and I want to help them. I want to heal them and make a difference," she retorted._

_Ron had simply stared at her and said nothing. _

"_It seems we want different things out of each other, Ronald. I love you but I cannot be the kind of partner who stays at home to take care of her family. I need to be out there, helping, rebuilding, and I don't think I can do that with you."_

"_I love you too, Hermione. But you're right, I want something different out of my partner and I cannot give you what you want. But don't come running back to me if life doesn't give you what you're looking for," he said, lamely._

_****End Flashback****_

They mutually broke up, opting to remain friends.

Now 24, here she was, a fully certified Healer who specialized in Spell Damage. She was content with her life. She had a wonderful 2 bedroom flat in muggle London. Many people were surprised at her choice to live away from the magical community, but after all the reporters trying to take her picture when she was out and about, she got fed up and decided to live within the Muggle world. Luckily, her flat was only a few blocks from St. Mungos and she preferred to walk rather than apparate, or else muggles would become suspicious that she never left her flat. She was in constant company of her half-Kneazle cat, Crookshanks. She had brunch every Sunday with the Weasleys, with whom she was obviously still on good terms with despite her failed relationship with Ron.

Harry had finally found the courage to propose to Ginny a few years ago, and now they were happily married with one-year-old baby James Sirius Potter. Harry had become a full-fledged Auror and Ginny, surprisingly, had become a Healer as well, focusing more on children than adults. Everyone had assumed she would go on to become a major Quidditch star, for she was very good. However, Ginny had been hit hard with the loss of her brother and could no longer find the same enjoyment in the sport where Fred had once been a beater. His death prompted her to seek healing, but it was her pregnancy that made her choose to specialize in children's health.

After Ron and she had broken up, he had taken up a relationship with Lavender Brown. While Hermione had been hurt by Ron's sudden relationship, she could not fault him because she had given him up. She tried to get along with Lavender, but that woman was such a cow! She was so disagreeable that it made Hermione want to tear her bushy hairy out. They always ended up arguing because Lavender would always assume that Hermione was trying to find a way to take Ron away from her. Preposterous! Luckily the relationship didn't last much longer than a year.

To everyone's surprise, he soon afterward asked Luna Lovegood out. She initially thought them to be a rather odd pair, with Luna's, frankly, unusual personality. However, it was soon evident that they were a wonderful match. Where Ron harnessed a loud and impulsive nature, Luna's calming and thoughtful personality balanced him out. Where Ron was crass, Luna was gentle, where he was hot-headed, she was even-tempered. Hermione couldn't have been happier with Ron's choice, for she adored Luna's ability to tame Ron where she herself had failed. And Luna was perfectly okay with being a stay-at-home wife, just as Ron wanted. Two years into their relationship, he had proposed. Their wedding was to take place in the spring equinox, as per Luna's request.

While Hermione was happy with her life, she couldn't help but wonder about what Blaise had said. Was her life really as boring as he made it seem? She knew that her social life was lacking and her love-life extinct, but what was wrong in just being happy in the present. Plus, she wanted to believe in the age-old saying that love would find you when you least expect it.

With that thought in mind, she stepped into the first patient's room. She was startled to see the person in front of her, lying helplessly on the bed, looking deathly pale. Standing next to him were two other Aurors, both of whom she knew.

"Harry!"

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><p>So that was the first chapter. I know, ending on a cliffhanger sucks, but I'll tell you that not all is what it seems :P Anyway, like I said this is my first Dramione and this chapter was really mostly for background information. If anyone has any suggestions about the story, let me know in your reviews and I really do listen to them! I have a general idea of where to take the story but if I see any ideas that are just too good to ignore, I'll definitely incorporate them and give credit where it is due. Again, if you'd like to Beta, let me know! Please leave a review for me so I know this story isn't off to a horrible start XD and constructive criticism is welcome.<p> 


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